


first in the water

by perhapssoon



Category: Splatoon
Genre: AND FLOWERS, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, a lot of blood, aloha and safari are dating btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 07:37:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18278735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perhapssoon/pseuds/perhapssoon
Summary: He can't get his crush out of his mind.OrThat Hanahaki AU no one wants





	first in the water

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be longer and more in detail but i gave up so have this trash

He leans over and retches, watching flower petals tumble into the pool of blood, water, and ink, waterlogging their veins so they slowly sank into the murky liquid. He resists the urge to reach in and fish the flowers back out, like it would help his mind to calm down, to take things slower, like saving the flowers would save his sanity.

There's a knock on the door, and he almost jolts facefirst into the toilet bowl, Aloha's voice ringing through the closed door.

"Scuba, are you in there?"

Scuba forces himself to stand, using the bathroom walls to push himself upright. He can't face Aloha, not after this. He flushes the toilet, the sound of rushing water burning into his skull, making his head hurt, and turns to open the door, swiping a hand over his eyes to wipe away the tears.

Aloha stands in the doorway, face a blank. "You done?"

"Yeah, man, it's all yours." Scuba forces a grin and waves towards the bathroom, and Aloha makes a face good-naturedly.

"Gross."

His grin fades the farther he gets from Aloha, his chest hurting from the damned flower petals. He stumbles past Sheldon, who's busy instructing a young inkling on how to use a Splattershot, almost bumps into Aviator who's browsing the racks of weapons, and falls onto the door trying to open it. The square is filled with inklings and he nearly crashes into someone with every step he takes. His vision is spinning, but he can't cough up more flowers out here, not here, not now.

"Scuba, hey!" He turns at his name, and comes face-to-face with Straw, who has Octoglasses by the arm, waving at him with her free hand.

He lifts a hand in response. "Yo."

"How're you? We haven't seen you all day!" Octoglasses says, adjusting her glasses and Scuba allows a grimace.

"Yeah, I've been, uh." He considers telling the girls the truth, because they might be able to help him, but at that moment, Aloha walks out of the weapon shot, waving his hands to dry them.

"Oh, the gang's all here!" Aloha flashes them all a grin and Scuba's lips twitch slightly. "You guys up for a run of practice?"

"Yeah!" Octoglasses hops up and down, excited, Straw matching her movements, but Scuba's gut churns at the very thought of it.

Aloha's smile had faded as he gazed at Scuba, and the latter backs away slightly. "You good, man?"

"Yeah, I--" and that's as far as he gets before he doubles over, lungs burning as flowers force themselves out of his mouth. One, two, three, four whole flowers fall to the concrete, scattering their pink petals as dark blue blood splatters among them. He's choking so badly that his vision blurs, tears forming in his eyes from both the pain and humiliation of allowing himself to be seen like this.

Hands grip his shoulders, holding him upright so he doesn't topple in a pool of his own blood. He can hear words being spoken but he can't tell who is speaking or what they are saying.

He wheezes, vomiting more flowers, colorful pricks against the blue-stained pavement in his blurry vision. 

"--ba? Scuba? Can you hear me?"

He realizes then that he's shaking violently, coughing though there's nothing coming out, dry retching when his stomach is empty. His asthma is acting up, keeping him from breathing, but he can see Aloha silhouetted against the sunny sky. Great. Just great.

"Scuba? Are you okay?"

_No_ , he wants to say.  _I'm not okay when you're here._  Instead, all that comes out of his mouth are flower petals.

"Here." A hand guides the end of his snorkel to his mouth. "J-just breathe, okay?"

He does, against his inner judgement. Air flows into his lungs and the coughs subside. He feels cold and shudders as he slowly takes in oxygen, eyes managing to focus on his surroundings.

He's supported by Straw on his left, Octoglasses on his right, Aloha standing in front of him, hands on his snorkel to make sure he keeps breathing. Scuba resists the urge to slap the other inkling's hands away. He doesn't want Aloha near him. Not after this.

He coughs once and a petal floats from his mouth, Aloha letting go of the tube to catch it. He brings it up to eye level, inspecting it, and Scuba takes that moment to glance sideways at Straw. Her eyes are sympathetic and concerned, as she mouths,  _Are you okay?_

He nods weakly at her and she seems satisfied.

Aloha meanwhile was inspecting the puddle of blood and flowers scattered on the ground, rising slowly once he sees Scuba's looking at him. "You need to go to the hospital," he says, his expression for once devoid of any of his usual playfulness.

"N-no." Scuba struggles out of Straw and Octoglasses' grip and nearly falls over. His chest feels like something is trying to come out of it. "I'm good, really." He offers Aloha a strained smile but Aloha isn't taking it.

"You're going to the hospital," he says. "Now."

Scuba shakes his head. It's Hanahaki Disease, he knows that already. No cure except for his feelings to be reciprocated or for the flowers to be removed surgically. And he already knew who he had a crush on, coddammit. Aloha's just making it worse.

"I can't," he says, because he really can't. To go to a hospital will just provoke them to remove the flowers physically. And he can't handle not having feelings towards Aloha. It's something he doesn't want to live with but doesn't want to live without.

Thankfully, he's interrupted by Aloha's phone ringing, and when his leader pulls it out of his pocket, his brows furrow. 

"Hey Safari."

Those two words make Scuba's heart plummet several stories and he chokes as he feels a vine crawl up his throat, bearing flowers that push against his throat, drawing blood. He gags, blood spilling from his mouth as he stumbles away from Straw and Octoglasses, who are trying to keep him upright again. Aloha looks alarmed, and he shoves the phone between his shoulder and ear as he continues his conversation while trying to help Scuba.

"Yeah."

Scuba briefly wonders what Safari's saying before the flower overtake his vision again.

"No. We're at the, uh," Aloha glances around him, looking frantically at his remaining functioning teammates for help. 

"Training," Octoglasses says, and Scuba blinks, startled, nearly falling on his face if Straw didn't steady him and prop him into a sitting position.

Why would they lie where they are? They're in the square for everyone to see, Safari would know anyway.

"Yeah! We're at training," Aloha says quickly. "Pretty rigorous work here." He pauses.

And his next few words cause Scuba to vomit more flowers and blood, this time into his lap.

"Yes, I'll see you for dinner, love. Bye." Aloha shoves his phone into his pocket and kneels besides Scuba, who instinctively flinches away from him. There's a flash of hurt in the party king's eyes before it turns to concern.

"Scuba."

The other inkling turns his head at the mention of his name, and Aloha repeats it more urgently. "Scuba. Listen to me. Please."

Reluctantly, Scuba meets Aloha's gaze and feels his heart speed up as more flower clog his throat. He coughs, petals drifting to the floor before he can speak. "What?"

"You need help. You need to get to a hospital."

One look at Aloha's eyes tell him everything. He doesn't know about Hanahaki Disease. He doesn't know about Scuba's feelings. He doesn't know anything other than that his best friend is currently spewing blood and flower petals everywhere and that he needs medical attention.

Scuba won't win here. He knows that well. Aloha would bodily drag him to the hospital if he had to.

"Fine."

A look of relief spreads across his friend's face, and cod, Scuba wants to tell him the truth so badly. He wants to see recognition in Aloha's eyes, maybe even rejection, maybe acceptance, but never this false relief, the relief that he will never feel because he's stuck with a damn disease that will continue until he dies or gets over it.

He doesn't want to get over it.

\---

He's praying that Hanahaki Disease isn't in the hospital records, but by the empathetic look the nurse gives him, she knows exactly what's going on.

He's been given a bowl that he is supposed to cough flowers into, but so far only a single intact bloom has landed in there, along with a trickle of blood. Aloha's talking to the doctor, Straw and Octoglasses hovering over him uncertainly, and it's all Scuba can do to close his eyes and try to escape.

"We can try surgery," the nurse tells him later, after ushering his teammates out the room. "Or you can try to confess."

He hates the look in her eyes; it shows she knows exactly who he has a crush on.

He coughs and petals float from his mouth. He barely manages to catch them in the bowl, and the nurse eyes the petals with an expert eye.

"You're getting worse," she says. "I think you'll have to get it over with, okay? I'll let him in."

He can't protest, because a series of upheavals wrack his body and several flowers and a splatter of blood land in the bowl right as Aloha enters.

"The nurse said you had something to tell me," his leader says, eyes full of concern. "She said it was a life or death matter and--"

"I have a crush on you," Scuba blurts, and immediately wants to take the words back. Aloha's eyes widen so large that he can see his own reflection in them.

"You... what?" His voice is so soft, Scuba can barely hear it, and he shrinks back into himself like Aloha might explode on him.

"I know you're with Safari," he says quickly, before the tears burning behind his eyes threaten to come out. "And I--"

Aloha's in front of him in two quick movements, and Scuba instinctively stiffens. "You like me?"

"Y-yeah?" Scuba's breath hitches slightly. Aloha's too close.  _Way_  too close.

Aloha smiles then, and leans in closer. "Good."

The kiss is short, sweet, but when he pulls away, Scuba can breath again. He can practically feels the flowers branches in his lungs receding "Wh--"

Aloha shrugs, as if he didn't just give his second-in-command something akin to mouth-to-mouth. "You like me."

"And kissing me is supposed to do something?"

Aloha laughs, the sound high and clear in the empty hospital room. He makes direct eye contact with Scuba, and the latter can see that he's blushing furiously, flush rising in his own cheeks.

"I don't like you, you know."

And then he's practically on top of Scuba, his voice husky and low, eyelids lowered more than halfway. "I love you."


End file.
